U.S. employee confidence up in third quarter: survey

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. employee confidence edged up in the third quarter, with many workers saying the worst of the recession is over, but that optimism came with hopes for raises and advancement when the dust clears, a survey released on Thursday showed.

If the economy reaches pre-recession levels, 57 percent of U.S. workers polled said they would expect a raise, bonus or promotion, according to the quarterly survey conducted for Glassdoor.com, an online site providing company information to employees, job seekers and employers.

The findings were based on responses from 2,257 U.S. adults nationwide, of whom 1,195 were employed full- or part-time, and 166 were self-employed. The survey was conducted by research firm Harris Interactive.

The survey aimed to assess employee confidence in terms of hiring, outlook, compensation and job security.

Nine out of 10 of those questioned forecast that their company's outlook will stay the same or improve in the next six months, with 44 percent predicting improvement. The previous quarter, only 39 percent predicted improvement, and only 35 percent in the first quarter predicted improvement.

"Employees now reveal they're expecting payback in the form of raises, bonuses, promotions and perks once the economy recovers," Rusty Rueff, Glassdoor.com career and workplace expert, said in a statement.

"Combine these high expectations with the one in five employees who expects to change jobs when the music really starts on the economy, and employers will have new challenges," he said.

Companies will need to "bridge the gap between employee expectations and the post-recession realities," he said.
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